In next year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ben Affleck will become the sixth actor to play The Dark Knight (in a live action film), and everything we've seen from his portrayal so far has us thinking he'll be fantastic in the role. It already looks markedly different from Christian Bale's version in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, from costume to tone.
Speaking with French Magazine Studio Cine Live, Affleck commented on why some of those differences are necessary: "I don’t want to compete with other incarnations, nor do I want to emulate them. Those versions belong in another universe. Christopher Nolan used his Batman to tell a finite story. My version is different, but remains faithful to the Batman mythology and all the themes associated with it".
"The other difference is that Nolan’s Batman isn’t part of a universe where other superheroes exist as well", Affleck continued. "Here – because we’re working towards the Justice League – there’s Superman, and it’s a world populated with super beings. This situation generates an altogether new reality".
Affleck's comments make a lot of sense. The universe Zack Snyder started in Man of Steel is a lot more fantastical than Nolan's more realistic take, and that allows for more possibilities for what you can do with certain characters. It's also important to note that while Nolan's story charted Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming the Caped Crusader, Affleck's Wayne has already been Batman for 20 years and is coming out of retirement.
Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Gal Gadot, Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne and Amy Adams, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will arrive in UK and US cinemas on March 25, 2016.
Images: Warner Bros
